Velvet Blindfolds and Boxes
by Tarafina
Summary: Remind me again why a blindfold is necessary?"


**Title**: Velvet Blindfolds and Boxes  
**Category**: Smallville  
**Genre**: Romance  
**Pairing**: Chloe/Oliver  
**Rating**: Humor/Romance  
**Prompt**: Picture by ellashy  
**Word Count**: 1,913  
**Summary**: "Remind me again why a blindfold is necessary?"

**_Velvet Blindfolds and Boxes_**  
-1/1-

"Remind me again why a blindfold is necessary?" she wondered, pursing her lips.

He grinned at her. "You'll peek if I ask you to just close your eyes… You're too curious for your own good, Sidekick."

She tried to frown, but her mouth was tugging into a smile. He was right. Despite the fact that he was bringing her to her surprise right then, she was already itching to know what it was, without the wait. Patience was a virtue Chloe Sullivan did not have. When he'd invited her over for the night and promised a surprise, she'd been hoping for something a little more naked. It didn't help that his silk pajama shirt was unbuttoned, revealing an expanse of hard, tanned skin. She licked her lips, knowing that he was just behind her and that warm body of his was temptingly close. When he'd produced a blindfold, she was even _more _interested, until her clothes were still on and he was ushering her to some unknown place, the promise of mind-blowing sex seemingly on the back-burner.

"There are a lot more _fun _things we can be doing with this blindfold, you know…" she suggested, smirking.

His husky laughter at her ear made her shudder down to her toes. "The game's only beginning…"

Oliver had a way of making things sound oh so promising; he hadn't even touched her yet, not really, and not only were all her clothes on, but he'd _added _more fabric. Nearly a year of this and the man still had the same effect on her; she swore he knew exactly what it took to make her knees shake beneath her, her breath unsteady, and her heart skip a beat. In the beginning, friendship had a few added benefits that she was all for, but then the lines blurred and what was meant to only be a stress-reliever, comfort between two people who trusted each other, became deeper and lust had evolved to love. Naturally, she'd avoided the very possibility, but as if he'd always known that was what would happen, he not only accepted it but convinced her to too.

His hands squeezed her shoulders, brought her back to the present, and so she was distinctly aware when they left the living room and entered his bedroom. It was the scent of him; male, faint cologne that tickled her senses, she could even smell the laundry soap on the clothes hanging in his closet and lingering on the sheets. Not far behind it was her own scent that seemed to comingle with his now; the spritz of her favorite perfume near his dresser, of the bounce sheets she used on her clothes. She kept a few things over at his place since he was a stickler for her not staying in the watch tower over night and not driving all the way back into Smallville when it got too late.

"Keep an open mind," he told her, his cheek against her hair, mouth tickling her ear.

She snorted. "In my line of work? An open mind is a requirement, Big Green."

"This isn't work, Professor," he murmured, a certain gentle twist to his tone that made her brows furrow.

"Consider my mind wide open, regardless."

"And just to be sure, maybe keep your heart open too…" he suggested. "Wouldn't want the two to disagree."

"Are you _nervous_?" she asked, a light laugh in her voice. "Listen, I'm the one with the blindfold and trusting that whatever this is it doesn't kill, maim or deform… Since bed gymnastics are out for a little while yet, the only one who should be nervous is me!"

He laughed against her ear, the thick rumble making her stomach tighten in response. Oh how she wanted to shed her clothes, tear off his, and get straight to the fun part!

He kissed her neck then, faint whiskers of a 5 o'clock shadow grazing her skin, and she lost her breath for a second. And then his fingers were untangling the knot of the blindfold behind her head. As the red velvet fell away, he was stroking her neck, watching her. She took a moment to open her eyes, anticipation she hadn't even recognized was making her chest pound. As she opened them, she raised her gaze from the floor slowly. His room, just as she had suspected, but now as she looked there were little tell-tale differences. The bag of clothes and extras she usually kept by the door was gone. Her perfume was _on _the dresser, next to his cologne rather than packed away. Inside the closet were his and her clothes, hanging mixed together. Across the bed was not the heavy green blanket that matched his sheets and pillow cases but _her _favorite multi-colored blanket from home and her orange pillow was sitting next to his green. And there, in the middle of her bedspread, was an emerald velvet box. She gulped, knees unsteady.

Her first thought was of a ring, and automatically her mind put an image together of what he might pick, of what she would like. Two diamonds on either side of a glittering emerald; small though, nothing blinding, but elegant, beautiful, simple, and not just her but _them_. And then her eyes widened; a _ring_ – too fast, too soon. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that, if _they _were ready for that. She was stuck between excitement and fear; some part of her thought it would work, they could make it. And another part was terrified that they wouldn't, that it would end the same way it had with Jimmy. Logically, she knew that was rather impossible. Jimmy was left in the dark about the majority of her life while Oliver was actually living it _with _her, aware of every secret she had. And there was no monster out there in love with her but gunning for the world; not now. So no Davis to gut Oliver and leave her without her heart.

But were they ready? It'd only been a year and yes, she loved him but there was still time, still things they could learn about each other.

"Open it," he suggested, lips brushing her ear delicately. She nodded, unable to speak, and crossed the room, leaving his embrace. She had to kneel on the edge of his large bed, reach to the center and pluck the box from it. The velvet was soft, cool against her thumb. She couldn't help but look at him, at the calm way he was standing in the doorway now, a smile tugging half of his mouth up and his arms crossed over his naked chest. His laughing brown eyes were what made her open the box; maybe she wasn't patient but she was definitely proud. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed down into the box. Not a ring but a _key_. She didn't know if she was disappointed or relieved.

"So… You spend six out of seven days and nights here, you have your own side of the bed and I have no idea where you put the food that _was _in the cupboard but I do know that you're stocked up on coffee to last through an apocalypse…" He grinned then. "We don't have a conventional life and our relationship isn't always normal, but… I love you and…" He ducked his head slightly, "When you're not here I wish you were."

She fingered the silver ring, stared at it a moment longer. "You know your place is keycard and password locked, right? And that I can bypass your server any day of the week if I wanted to come in?"

He laughed, crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to her. "So I'm somewhat sentimental… and a keycard wouldn't fit in the box."

She chuckled, nodding. "Okay… So you moved my stuff in, got me a key, and essentially asked me to live with you…" Looking up at him, at the soft grin that curved his mouth, she felt one of her own turning her lips. "If I say yes, what do I get in return?"

He cocked a brow. "To put the blindfold back on…"

She pursed her lips, waited. "What for?"

Leaning toward her, his nose slowly gliding along her own, he stared deeply into her eyes and murmured, "I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise…"

She shivered, her spine tightening and her toes curling. "You realize you're stuck with me if we do this, right? There's no going back… Not really."

He smirked, nodded ever-so-slightly, and then buried a hand in her hair, drawing her face nearer. "That's the point."

As his lips met hers, she melted; into his embrace, his proposal, and everything else he would offer. Sliding back to the bed, her hands spread across his hard chest, fingers digging in as if she expected him to pull back, to disappear, too good to be true style. But he didn't, instead he nibbled her lips and hugged her close, hands shedding her clothes and rubbing her body into a frenzy. His touch had a way of scattering her thoughts, of leaving her mindless except for one thing; _him_. But this time, she held onto her train of thought, onto the idea he'd made enter her mind. Him, her, living together, _properly_. No more nights of driving back to Smallville, no more listening to Clark and Lois _trying _to be quiet, and no more being away from him when all she wanted was to be _with _him.

When he broke away to kiss down her throat, her eyes fluttered open, staring at the ceiling sightlessly. "Yes," she murmured on a rasp of air.

He paused, nipped her neck and then rose until they were face to face once more. He searched her eyes carefully. "Yes?"

She cupped his face, something softening inside her as she saw the slight shade of worry in his eyes. "Yes… I'll move in and take your key that doesn't really open anything and whatever else this comes with…"

He chuckled, nodding. "Good…" Kissing her lips once more, he drew back and smirked. "'Cause moving you back to Lois' was gonna be hell… She was already trying to rent your room in spite and I think she threw a shoe at my head when I leaving."

Laughing, Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll just have to stay then."

He feigned disappointment. "I'll do my best to cope."

"Mm." Suddenly, she rolled him onto his back and straddled his waist, smiling as his hands fell to rub the tops of her thighs. Reaching across the bed, she plucked the blindfold up and held it between her hands. "Now about those other surprises you had in store…" She smirked. "You first, roomie."

So it wasn't a ring or an engagement, but it was a defining part of their relationship. The fact that she'd even been excited, momentarily, for the possibility of being his wife told her a whole lot anyway. In one year, she'd learned to trust, to love, and to earn the same. They'd fought, made up, shared secrets and weathered through some of the worst of it. And now she had a new home, a key to the future, and a man she was quickly becoming certain she'd spend a lifetime with. The marriage could wait a little while yet, but the mind-blowing sex… that was an every-day given.


End file.
